Reluctant Weaknesses
by HeadUpHeartStrong
Summary: What if, somehow, the Sherrif survived Edwards attack and stumbled upon the witch hunters. Karma's a bitch. T for violence.


**Important Author's Note!**

**I know this makes Gretel look weak, which she certainly isn't implied many times by Hansel. I just love the over protective brotherly element in the film and in many of the Fanfiction as well. **

**So Gretel defiantly is not weak! **

"What happened to you?" Hansel demanded sternly thought there was a under layer in his voice of panic and worry for his younger twin sister. "What happened to your face?"

Not only hours ago Gretel was an ambushed by the coward for a sheriff and his pathetic backups. The sheriff alone Gretel could take on with ease, two she would of kicked butt without breaking a sweat. Three or four would be more difficult but not impossible. But there were five or six men there with guns where as Gretel only had her crossbow on hand. But Gretel defiantly showed them she was not a girl to mess with in result of tearing of part of that absurd cockroach for a man's nose with her teeth.

Violent, huh?

But she proved a point and she would still be proud of that until the day she dies. Mostly because that was twice now she damaged that idiot's nose, first head butting and now biting. But not only that, Gretel was held back by three guys almost twice her size and a couple years older than her as well. And they managed to land several blows to the face and also the rib cage that were throbbing as they spoke. But let's just say he and his backups got what they deserved courtesy of a troll named Edward.

"I fine." Gretel replied her voice and confidence shaking a little.

By Hansel's reaction she knew she must look bad. Not only does Gretel feel she has a cracked skull in various different places but she could tell her left cheek and both eyes were intently throbbing. Probably a black eye had a swelling check, not to mention the split lip and the trickle of blood silently sliding itself down her grim face.

"Who did this to you?" Hansel demanded the answer again.

No matter how much Hansel annoyed her with being an over protective big brother sometimes it was a real bliss to have someone like Hansel to watch your back.

"Gretel." Hansel warned. "Who did this to you?"

Gretel wasn't going to tell him even if, somehow, the sheriff escaped from Edward (no matter how unlikely) he would have hell to deal with if Hansel ever caught him. That's a fate no one wants.

Gretel purposely ignored the question just shaking her head slightly signalling she didn't want to talk about and muttering a couple more 'I'm fine'. Being beaten up and humiliated by witches was one thing but to be entirely helpless lying on the ground being kicked in the ribs by filthy men was another. Witches had an excuse, being evil because it was their nature, but men beating up a woman who was extremely outnumbered was just plain cruel. As a woman she believed that the female sex was just as good as men but what just happened went against everything Gretel stood for as a woman.

Hansel brought his younger sister into another hug, wrapping a comforting arm round her shoulders.

"I am sorry." Hansel murmured, full of remorse.

Hansel was supposed to look after her little sister no matter the cost but instead he was with Mina as if time didn't matter while Gretel was fighting to find him where Hansel looked like he hadn't even bothered trying. Hansel noticed Gretel had several different cuts on her face. Two overlapping ones on her forehead then a busted lip that was freshly bleeding plus another deep cut on Gretel's left check where coincidentally a fist shaped bruise had settled just under her eye.

By the way Gretel was acting it seemed like no witch could have possibly done this. A wound from a witch was like a sting from a bee; it meant nothing but was a tad annoying. So that left one option it was that foul sheriff who could stir up more trouble than a rampaging witch with a hunger for blood and death on crack.

"What did the sheriff do?" Hansel growled, already picturing the worst scenarios where the 'beloved sheriff' could get tortured; a pleasant thought for Hansel.

Gretel grimaced when she remembered what Edward the troll had done but the details were blurry and gory. She was thankful for that since she knew a lot of blood was involved. Gretel was more than keen to kill witches but to kill a human was different, most humans would never kidnap children and try and sometime succeed to roast them on an open flame. So ultimately Gretel never knew how she felt when a human was murdered in cold blood.

"What else did he do?" Hansel snarled, knowing there was more to the story then his sister was letting on.

Gretel sighed. There was no way around this mostly because the twins promised never to lie to each other and Hansel always knew when she was lying to him. It was an annoying trait they both carried. So making up another story was out of the question. She didn't want to tell the truth either as she knew that if the sheriff was not yet dead a troll coming after him again was the least of his problems. For the good of the sheriff Gretel truly hoped he was dead because the fate he would have endured would be far worse if Hansel managed to find him.

"When I was looking for you the sheriff and four other men ambushed me in the forest." Gretel started her voice shaky.

"So five men jumped you who were twice as big?" Hansel growled.

Hansel's face morphed into anger and his usually chocolate brown eyes had changed into black as a void, emitting pure rage. Hansel was fully aware that Gretel could completely take care of herself but if his experience with witch hunting had taught him anything it would be to always watch his little sisters back and beat up anyone who she wasn't capable of hitting. It was his job. And he took pride in that and all the other times he protected his sister.

But no one hits Gretel!

Sure witches might but they are both trying really hard not to die to take it into an account. But when he does see the blood or bruises on her face Hansel always gets his revenge. So what makes this time any different?

"Three of the men held me back while the stupid sheriff explained to me that I was under arrest for the burning of augsville." Gretel continued. "So I tore half of his nose off and things went downhill from there."

Hansel felt proud for a split second before his pride for his sister turned to anger for that man. Just one look at Gretel he could tell she was in more pain then she showed. Because she moved less and was a tad reluctant to tackle Hansel through the floor.

"What else hurts?" Hansel almost barked at Gretel.

Although his anger wasn't directed towards her, Hansel knew that Gretel need a push to show how much pain she was in and all of her true injuries. Gretel rarely greeted sympathy with open arms unless it was something utterly severe and life threatening, which was not something that happened every day.

"Nothing." Gretel bit her lip hesitantly, refusing to show weakness. "It's nothing, honestly. The sheriff just kicked me in the rib cage a couple times."

"That filthy excuse for a man had kicked you while you were down?" Hansel seethed. "The nerve of that pathetic pig!"

Hansel barely stopped himself from hitting an object that could withstand enough fury that he was venting. The only choice was a bolder preferably a bolder the size of an entire village, at the minimum.

It was scary to say the least, to say a world renowned witch hunter to be afraid, somehow, to talk about a fight Gretel was in. Hansel rarely saw this side of his younger sister. It was the vulnerable and soft hearted side that just about proves that their parents abandoned them although Hansel had moved on from the heart ache where as his sister obviously didn't.

Hansel's hand surged forward reaching towards Gretel's rib cage. But as Hansel scarcely touched her skin but Gretel flinched away not daring to look her older brother in the eye.

"Nothing, huh?" Hansel said bitterly though there was still anger in his voice.

It took a very persuasive lecture from Hansel to get Gretel to clean and dress her wounds, and Hansel was anything but a persuasive person; that was his sister's job. Hansel only took minutes on the wound but it was far worse then he hoped. That sheriff had one hard kick and so that gave Hansel more and more reasons to torture him then kill the sheriff painfully. Plus it was a lot to make Gretel refuse a chance at revenge but that nowhere near stopped Hansel on his plans...

It was nearly three a.m in the morning and Hansel and Gretel have never felt more tired and sore. There fight with over sixty witches drained too much out of them plus getting their revenge on their mother and father was also nice. As soon as they arrived back to Ausgville they were welcomed back like Heroes even if it was three in the morning, plus the twins were given every single penny they deserved. But to Hansel's amusement there was the sheriff to greet them.

Hansel had somehow cornered the sheriff into his office at the early hours of the morning and shortly after the twins return to the small village. Gretel knew what was going to happen before it did, so she stayed back in the shadows waiting the time for her need. It didn't take long for fighting to start and almost everyone in Ausgville heard the commotion but didn't bother with the unimportant noise which was their sheriff getting battered courtesies of Hansel. But before the fighting began Hansel did a thorough investigation of the sheriff's point of view - which was less than insightful.

"How many guys did it take?" Hansel growled a knife the size of a forearm held at the sheriff's throat. "To hold my sister down while you landed just one blow that alone you'd never even go near her?"

The sheriff didn't answer just grovelled for his life like a sniffling coward he was. Hansel didn't expect an answer which made the interrogation much more amusing.

"Answer me!" Hansel bellowed, into the sheriff's ear.

The sheriff whimpered in fear and flinched at the raging voice roaring down his ear. But like any man - his pride overcame his sense of reason - and grabbed a hand full of Hansel hair. The sheriff tried to look as intimidating as possible towering over Hansel, being two or three inches taller than him. However Hansel never seemed scared just amused more than anything, a smirk crawled upon Hansel lips. This had a terrible effect on the sheriff as he was not used to be questioned over his power of authority, but here he was getting infuriatingly teased by a man who could squash the sheriff like a bug all because of that stupid girl.

'It was all Gretel's fault,' the sheriff decided mentally. 'And she's going to pay.'

Hansel who was momentarily distracted by the lack of the response from the sheriff was caught off guard when the butt of a candle stick holder came flying towards is face. It was too close to dodge and too fast to block it so Hansel had no other alternative then to except the flying candle stick coming towards him. It connected with his forehead with a sickening crunch that blurred Hansel's vision for several moments. But it was enough of the distraction he needed to pick up the knife Hansel left lying around on the table and slice a shallow cut on Hansel's chest. Also sending a punch directed at his face and a kick to a Hansel's sensitive place which made him double over in pain.

Gretel charged towards the two men putting herself in front of Hansel protectively, who was on the floor regaining his bearings. The Sheriff being an over confident pig took a strike, bringing the knife he was holding in an arc. Gretel just step-sided the Sheriff's stab and grabbed the sheriff's arm and twisting it round so he dropped the knife. Again the sheriff lunged for Gretel his arm out stretched, reaching for her neck only to get punched in his moustache sending him staggering backwards. Another punch was thrown towards the sheriff but this time he collapsed on to his bleeding face.

Gretel made her way towards Hansel who was kneeling over blood trickling from the side of his face. Another perfect opportunity for the sheriff as Gretel's back was turned away from him. Taking it to his advantage the sheriff used what was left of his strength, charged towards Gretel's back and hit her round the head from behind, hard enough to draw blood. She staggered a bit and reached out towards a wall to steady her. The sheriff only had seconds before Hansel recovered so he lunged towards Gretel knocking her over with one swift punch in the jaw. Gretel was still standing but barely, as the sheriff put all of his strength in that punch. Again, acting on impulse the sheriff started to punch and kick Gretel with more power behind each on as the blows increased. Gretel tried to shield herself but there was only so much she could do as the impact became more fluent and stronger.

"Hey!" A voice cried from behind the sheriff and he knew his time was up, not only to get revenge but probably to live as well but somehow he reassured himself it was a necessary action.

Gretel was now heaped on the floor bleeding heavily in various different places, slumped up against the wall and it didn't help matters when the sheriff started to advance.

The sheriff felt a strong hand grip the back of his neck hitting a pressure point with enough strength to crush a small rock. That led to a spasm attack from the sheriff who tried to peel a hand with a firm grip with his hands.

"Get away from her!" Hansel hissed menacingly in the sheriff's ear.

The sheriff trembled. Hansel had pinned his hands behind his back, crushing the sheriff's wrist bone as a bonus - to Hansel that is. Then Hansel rammed the sheriff into the holding cells metal bars, head first which made the sheriff let out a small whimper. Hansel sneered and, just like the sheriff, started to punch every inch of skin on that terrible man.

It took all of Gretel's will to open her eyes and she saw the sheriff in the same position like she was but he was at the hands of Hansel, something more terrifying. But it took even more determination, to lift her arm towards her brother and croak out a few words.

"H-Hansel... Stop..." Gretel had to whisper the two words but was sure he heard. "Don't kill him."

Hansel turned to look at her his brown eyes was now pitch black and slight crazed.

"Why not?" Hansel demanded. "Look what he did to you. And if he stays alive just imagine what would happen if he does this again to an innocent that can't protect themselves."

"Because, whatever the cause we don't kill humans. No matter the crime." Gretel said softly, her voice wavering slightly from the punch to the throat she received. "You've punished him. Can't that be enough?"

Hansel exhaled deeply in frustration and ran his hand through his chocolate brown locks. It took a solid minute for Hansel to compose himself before turning back to the half dead sheriff next to his feet, bleeding on the carpet. Hansel heaved the sheriff onto his feet, not so gently, by the collar of his blood soaked uniform.

"Consider this a lesson." Hansel snarled into his ear and pushed the sheriff backwards into the wall.

Turning his back on the sheriff, Hansel went and helped up Gretel from the floor. It took several minutes before Gretel was leaning on Hansel and was able to limp out of the poorly built jail and up to their room they rented for the night. And as Gretel settled into her bed Hansel did an injury check. The witch hunters jaw was definitely broken and so it would seem that her right arm and several ribs plus her left ankle bones were all shattered neither a single nor a stable fragment of bone remained. Not only that but the sheriff had landed hard enough blows for Gretel to be battered, bruised and in severe pain for weeks if not months. She was bleeding from the cuts all over her body where the sheriff caught her with Hansel's knife he was armed with. So ultimately it took everything Hansel had not to go down to the sheriff and wring his probably broken neck.

"You're going to be alright." Hansel was reassuring himself more than Gretel.

Gretel gave her big brother a small, painful smile, although she didn't expect it to be the latter. She felt humiliated that the pathetic coward for a sheriff bested her again and she would have memories of this moment that would haunt her for many years maybe the rest of her life. And still, Gretel came off worse for wear more so than the sheriff did which annoyed her to no end. Not enough to crush what little life the sheriff had left but some annoyance to beat him a small amount herself.

Hansel hated himself. He should have protected his younger twin sister when she was getting beaten to pulp. But instead he was on the floor bleeding just because an idiot knocked him in the head with a candle stick holder! That was Hansel's only job: to protect Gretel. Their fathers last wish. But he failed him but most of all he failed Gretel who probably won't be able to walk for weeks and it was Hansel's fault for not being able to predict this, to stop this. Even though Hansel knew how strong and tough his sister was it was Hansel's nature to become the over protective big brother when Gretel was in danger.

But thinking of the sheriff in his office probably half dead put a tiny smile on Hansel face.

At least he got his own back.

**Terrible Ending I know. And like I said GRETEL ISN'T WEAK! Gretel's just very unlucky.**

**Please Review! **


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